Thursday, March 18, 2010

Map advertising Take 3

Google takes another crack at making money from map based advertising. From today a handful of Australian companies are able to display their logos on Google Maps (only official site, not the Google Map API option) in locations corresponding to their offices or business outlets. The markers appear only if you zoom very close.

Last year Google introduced clickable mini-markers on its public Google Map site. Things like train or bus stations, museums and other places of significance can now be “clicked on” for additional information. Markers are subtly incorporated into the overall design of the map so they do not detract from map browsing experience. Company logos are just an extension of this concept as Google tries to find more money making channels.

The first attempt to place advertisements directly on the maps was rather disappointing. Developers could “allow” those ads to appear as little markers when users zoomed to a particular location on a map but there was never enough advertising stock available to make it really pay and Google dropped the idea. Then Google allowed developers to incorporate normal text ads within the map. The ads are served according to relevance for the geographic extents shown on the map. This is a good concept but I haven’t seen many sites incorporating it yet.

This last initiative is only a test in Australia and New Zealand and if successful will be rolled out in other countries. I am not sure how this one will work out for Google. There is a whole range of logistic issues here – for example, accuracy and completeness of point locations for a particular company. It requires some effort to compile and maintain. And if cost of this activity is factored in the cost of advertising, it may be quite an expensive option for advertisers (advertising fees have not been revealed yet beyond that this is cost per thousand views arrangement). If bank, ATM, petrol stations and other POI locations were made available via Google Map API, I would gladly display that info on my maps for free!